Commuters who rely on the Cottman Avenue ramp of the I-95 freeway in Philadelphia are going to need a detour for quite a while. Months, officials say. That’s what happens when a tanker truck full of gasoline goes up in one huge and really hot blaze underneath the overpass.
Freeway collapsed and closed
On Sunday morning, June 11, Philadelphia officials made the announcement that a busy section of northbound I-95 freeway in Philadelphia “has collapsed after a tanker truck caught fire underneath the highway.” Not many outlets bothered to report what the tank was filled with but it was obvious that milk didn’t cause the intense inferno.
Philadelphia Inquirer confirms “an elevated section of I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia collapsed early Sunday after a tanker truck carrying gasoline burst into flames beneath it, severing the main expressway on the East Coast and causing travel chaos in the region that will be felt for some time.”
According to Derek Bowmer, battalion chief for the Philadelphia Fire Department, the collapse happened on the northbound side and “the southbound side is compromised by heavy fire.”
I95 overpass collapsed in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/Kevnlvopjs
— Washingtons ghost (@hartgoat) June 11, 2023
The whole freeway interchange will need to be replaced. “It looked like we had a lot of heat and heavy fire underneath the underpass.” His crews were still battling with the blaze while he held his conference.
In case you heard the explosions, those were caused by “runoff of maybe some fuel or gas lines that could have been compromised by the accident.” You may want to avoid the vicinity of the freeway collapse. “We have fire coming out of those manholes,” Bowmer explains.
As related by the mayor’s office, “a large tanker truck fire caused the collapse. The highway is closed in both directions around the area and the fire is under control.”
The roadway’s gone
Dominick Mireles serves as director of Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management. The emergency was one thing and management of it another, he notes. Those depending on that stretch of freeway are going to be out of luck “for a long time.”
His big goal was to make it through the day until he could get to a sip of something at least 80 proof. “Today’s going to be a long day. And obviously with 95 northbound gone, and southbound questionable, it’s going to be even longer than that. The roadway’s gone.”
The city’s managing director Tumar Alexander backed that up. The freeway isn’t free to build, which means the incident will “be a significant impact to this community for a while.” A “long while,” he added.
Wow!
Tanker on Philadelphia I-95 explodes.This video taken before road was closed … driving on the section that moments later collapses.😳 pic.twitter.com/iBElnCUtZH
— FFT™👠Conservative Values & News (@FemalesForTrump) June 11, 2023
It’s pretty clear that the tanker truck caught fire but the “where” was rather inconvenient, so investigators really want to know “why.” The blaze “is under investigation by the fire marshal and other partners.”
The Fire Department responded about 6:30 a.m. Sunday and had the freeway blaze under control by 7:30. “Authorities have not determined what caused the truck to catch fire and have disclosed no information on the driver.”
They also note that no injuries or deaths have been reported. “At least one vehicle” was reported “trapped in the rubble.” and officials continued “working to identify any individual or individuals who may have been caught in the fire.“
